Alienware X51 R2 review! Can it still game years later?

So I recently got this computer in the garage and decided to do a review on it. This computer was pretty cool. This was the I3 4th gen variant with a GTX 645 6gb ddr3 ram and a 1TB HDD. Alien ware did have beefier models at the time and this was their entry model budget model. Considering the age of this computer I was very impressed that It still ran very well and was able to do some light gaming. Now the suck factor of this computer was the power supply. It uses this brick power adapter which limited your video card upgrade path. To get the best performance for this card requires the power adapter to be upgraded and even then you are limited to a GTX 1060 at best and you have to run a blower cooler or the video cards would overheat. Despite this, the small size and convenience make it a great entry level gaming PC and HT Pc. I used it for a while and enjoyed it very much. The size was great for travel and squeezing in tight places to hide away. Even with the small size, this computer had decent temps and was not that loud under loud.

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[deadjame]

Using this model since its release, still functional to this day and glad I grew up with it

[lowtiergod]

Dude the quality of this video for a channel under 1000 subs definitely earned my sub

[G.S.Collectibles]

I have an R2 and was able to install a 2070 blower with success, runs great so far.

[NARUdaARC]

I have the i5 4460 model with 330W power brick. Swapped the aging 760Ti with a GTX 1650 Super and it's the best decision I've made. Added an SSD drive and upgraded the stock cooler with a better RGB fan and run the PC with open case. I'm playing Overwatch at 1080p Epic settings and still able to get average 125FPS. Value wise, maybe not great but tinkering with the small ITX form factor is fun.

[mpwaterhouse]

Thanks for the video. I sold my i7 X51 R1 with a GTX 670 a couple of years ago but still have I have my i7 X51 R2 with a 760 GTI that I upgraded with a Samsung SSD but it has been sitting in the garage for a while. Fired up the R2 in order to get the latest drivers and Windows patches installed. After a restart it began constantly power cycling! Seems to be a common issue with neglected X51s - the fix seems easy by opening it up and re-seating the RAM (pulled then switched the 2 8G banks over). Likewise I also had thought of upgrading the X51 GPU. Around the same time I picked up an inexpensive i7 based tiny PC Alienware Alpha (with 16G and the internal GTX 960M built in) a total punt though horribly slow with the stock 5400 rpm hard drive it plays most games decently. Switching out the drive for an SSD made it enjoyable to use!

Still wondering if I should upgrade the X51 R2 GPU since it is running fine - though it won't run most modern games beyond medium settings - its still eminently usable ? I have a super portable Alpha box for travel and I have two other faster/newer i7 PCs with better GPUs - a 1070 and a 1660.

[RussellTelker]

Still running my stock R2. It runs YouTube and some basic CAD programs fine. Will NOT run Davinci Resolve editing software for nothing. GPU memory maxes out just cutting film together with some basic transitions.

[akbarratt]

Great channel! I'm still running an i7 X51 R1 I bought in 2012. The form factor was great for moving back and forth from college, back before gaming laptops were very affordable. It was stock until the GPU finally burned out this year. Was able to upgrade to a 2TB SSD and a GTX1050 Ti which is not great for 2020 but a huge improvement from the GTX 555. Will probably run it until the motherboard gives out at this rate, I'm a cheapskate.

[ourdave]

Thank you! You’ve saved me some heart ache getting this (i5) and then hoping to put a 1050ti in it
👍🏻

[iTzLynch]

I have one with an i7 4790, 16Gb RAM, 256 Gb SSD and just ordered an EVGA GTX 1070Ti. Super excited about it! Runs like a champ

[traek]

I have an R2 with a 1070 8gb, I7 4760 3.4ghz and a 1TB ssd. I don't get over 64c in my case. I even removed the small fan from the front of the case.

[businessman]

Or what i did is I transfer all to a bigger case and i put a extra 750 watts power supply yes to power the graphic card is running perfect i have a 1080 graphic card and i can play all my games on 1080p on ultra setting and my is a i7 cpu

[Quickstep]

Hello mate, thank you so much for this video, it’s actually very helpful. I bought 6years ago a X51 R2 i7 with GTX660 (it was almost the best spec at the time) and I’m thinking to upgrade it. Seen your video, I won’t have to upgrade the CPU, definitely graphics card, maybe add ram and a SSD. I am currently running these games: Final Fantasy XIV (highest settings), Divinity 2 (low-medium settings) and Genshin Impact (low-medium settings). I model in 3D with Rhino and render on Enscape for work, and it’s still pretty good. I’m now having an issue where my screen goes black with no input signal, and after changing cable and screen (issue still occurring) I might try changing GPU. Anyway, thanks again mate this video is really helpful!
M.

[samuelhernandez]

i got one have it hooked up to my flat screen for movies i download works grate had it for 7 years

[johnnypolex]

Still using my X51 R1 (i7-4770, 16gb) from a decade ago. Bought for about $200 used. Upgraded to SSD. Upgraded the CPU/case fan with a super silent one. Required me to drill a 3” hole in the side cover. Now putting in a GTX1060 finally in 2024. Never too late to start gaming

[jamesharvey]

I installed an MSI Rx 560 4g lp that I had sitting around in mine, it draws 50w and was a good upgrade. If you get the 330w brick you can install the Rx5500xt and have 25 or so watts left over.

[SladeDemesne]

I bought one with a 750ti i5-4460 16GB and a 2TB HDD, still all original. On the fence about building or upgrading but everything is so expensive. (Expensive for my disabled hind end)

[moleyboy]

good review, im going to be modding one, for better cooling soon, the i3 is a 2 core 4 thread processor btw, it's more then capable to work and power a gtx 1050ti and not bottleneck it, and also work on that power supply, as a portable gaming pc :). Chuck a handle on the top, and it can fit in a bag easily etc.

[MrCoffis]

I got one with an RTX2070 still runs like a champ.
The fact they discontinued was a stupid move. There are alot of people who would love to have a high end pc in a SFF.

[ElitesJ]

Man, this was the most informative video for me since I have about the same exact model (1 yr older I believe). I was thinking about simply upgrading the graphics card to gtx 1060, but realized my PSU was too weak at 220w, and then worried about my processor at i3 and this video just helped me realize how much of a bad investment it would have been to upgrade. Appreciate it lots. I'm currently looking into MSI computers instead, possibly the trident 3 or vortex G25 with i7, 8gb, 1tb hdd, 256gb ssd, and gtx 1070. Hopefully, a better investment.

[yanghu]

I'm playing Cyberpunk 2077 on my X51 R2 with GTX 1060 GPU. It still has 35 fps under medium graphic setting. I would say it'll still hold for other 3 years.